Posted on 02/21/2017 8:02:48 PM PST by Texas Fossil
The Manbij military council, a multi-ethnic assembly for the various groups that successfully liberated Manbij from the Islamic State (IS) group last year, has responded to Turkish plans to capture Manbij, Raqqa and even Afrin after their assault on al-Bab as part of the Turkish army’s Euphrates Shield operation.
Speaking to Firat News Agency (ANF), the Manbij Military Council announced that they will not accept any kind of military intervention by the Turkish army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups it is backing, adding that Manbij will be defended if any such attack comes.
The Manbij Military Council members also said that the Turkish army has been attacking their positions with artillery fire and the FSA has been robbing civilians in the region.
Kawa Manbij, the commander of the fighters said, “[Turkish President] Erdogan says that Turkey will enter Manbij, they have no right to invade our lands. We are the children of Manbij, we were born here and we are protecting our town.”
“A few days ago, the people of Manbij protested Erdogan. Our friends were martyred while liberating these lands. The YPG and YPJ also helped to liberate Manbij but they left the city after the operations were completed. The Turkish army’s mortar bombs were fired into our villages causing civilian casualties,” the commander added.
The council members also claim that FSA groups have been robbing people at the borders.
“As the people and defenders of Manbij, we do not believe such groups can benefit us,” said another council member.
Refik Sellum, a fighter in the Manbij Military Council, said, “The Turkish army-backed FSA has no intention of saving Manbij, they are a group of thieves. They don’t want the people of Manbij to build a democratic system. Erdogan claims that they are fighting against Daesh [a regional acronym for the Islamic State], we do not believe this. We will defend our lands if they try to enter Manbij.”
Last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that Turkish troops would move on to take Manbij and Raqqa after the al-Bab operation in order to form a safe zone for “mainly our Arab and Turkmen brothers and sisters to settle into.”
It would be best if Turkey avoided this. It will serve no purpose except to pick an unnecessary fight.
The US has already said they will not support an assault on Manbij by Turkey. It was already liberated by the SDF.
Never heard of them . Is that Kurds? Not interested in kurds. Want my border closed.Need to slaughter ISIS real bad and LEAVE!! Not fighting for Kurds or anyone else but AMERICA!!
Who do you think is killing ISIS?
The SDF (Arabs & Kurds).
Our top military officers have concluded this is the best bunch of people to end ISIS. And they have the motive.
If all you want to do is argue about nothing, find some other place.
I want the USA to kill Isis. I want the distinct and independent honor of killing those godless bastards. I don’t want to spend any lives on the Kurds.
Our top military leaders have one and only one goal. The removal of Assad, and the installation of a “moderate” sunni state. ISIS is only being attacked because their antics are getting in the way and causing too much embarrassment.
FSA and the rebels would be far worse that Assad.
Not to worry about the Kurds, they can handle it without you. All we have to do is make sure they have what they need to defend themselves. The Iraqis, Syrians, Iranians and Turks would like them to disappear like the Armenians. As far as fighters, I’d take 1000 Kurds over 10,000 of their neighbors combined.
Last time I looked the military took their orders from the POTUS. I see no indication that Trump cares if Assad is removed.
That was the plan with the Bitch and the Bastard.
WENDLE, not to worry, the Kurds are slaughtering ISIS in Syria “real bad” for you. They don’t need your help.
Hopefully, the Turks (who are helping nobody but themselves) will stay out of the way — under some informal “encouragement” by Trump’s military reps in the region.
“Our top military leaders have one and only one goal. The removal of Assad, and the installation of a “moderate” sunni state.”
I agree that was the policy of the Obama Administration.
But, American deliveries and payments to the “moderate” Sunni rebels (AKA jihadis with a different temporary arm patch) that we had been supporting in NW Syria, have been halted over the last month (coincidentally, about as long as Trump has been in office).
Lots of gear still flowing to the Kurds for the Raqqa operation, and down South the Jordanians are still supporting units near their border. But up in Aleppo and Idlib, there has been nothing arriving from US channels. The Turks are paying and equipping the FSA in Aleppo Governorate, and they are hiring - but if there is no resumption of US support in the next month or so, it will really look like a change in policy.
I support the Kurds, but one must be seeing they are being used to draw a wedge between the US and Turkey so as to split Turkey from NATO as a buffer against Russia.
We might have to break Turkey up in pieces
It is interesting that both you and the article mention Raqqa.
Would Erdogan go after Raqqa? Would we hang the Kurds out to dry, if Erdogan goes after Raqqa, after us having supported the Kurds up until now? Are any US special forces still in the area of Manbij and / or Raqqa?
A little recent history (Syrian Democratic Forces, or “SDF taking of Manbij): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manbij_offensive
Reports I have seen recently said that 300 US Special Forces are supporting the Raqqa offensive, with another 200 troops also participating.
Our air support has been reported to have been timely and effective - like calling in for a pizza every time they encounter a strong point - just take a break, and wait for it blow up.
Erdogan made the big move last August, when he sent his Army over the border, so yes, I believe that he would go after Raqqa, if he thought that he could. But Raqqa is an Arab city, so both Kurds and Turks want Arab speaking/tribal surrogates to do a lot of the urban assault for them. So far, the Kurds have a lot more Arabs under arms, but the Turks have modern, heavy weaponry like tanks and big artillery. The Kurds have the field position to take Raqqa. The Turks are challenged from where they are now, but they have a big enough Army to force the result, if they insist.
Turkey wants to prevent or weaken the YPG/YPJ/SDF Kurdish organization in Syria, bail out their jihadi buddies, and might still harbor hopes of deposing Assad for a Sunni (islamist) government.
Turkey holds a lot of strong cards to trade in economic, military, and strategic terms - so it is possible that the Kurds could get short-changed in the end game. So far, SDF effectiveness on the ground has continued to improve their position. The next two months should be pivotal in shaping the way things end up.
They say that the enemy gets a vote in how a war turns out. In the Middle East, it is always a shifting mess of about a dozen players plotting against and backstabbing each other. That’s part of what makes it fun to watch.
This is the further unraveling of Sykes-Picot Treaty.
Sykes-Picot Treaty
Yes, the past still biting people in the A$$.
Turkey is no longer an appropriate part of NATO. Not since Erdogan gained great power. They have refused us the use of bases in Turkey during the Iraq War.
Erdogan will leave NATO, but I think he knows that Russia already has alliances in ME.
Turkey is like Pakistan as far as being an ally with the US. As long as the Turk military checked the Islamist Crazies, it “sort of” worked. In the absence of that, and it is gone now, Islamist insanity will bring great bloodshed to the region. When the power shift took place in Pakistan they showed their true colors. A few men there kept the appearance of being aligned, but the reality was the Paks were never supportive of the US. Took our money, played the game.
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